Lost My Clutch

Sorry you lost your clutch, I'm sure you are pretty disappointed as it takes a lot of work and time before you finally get eggs and to loss them must be hard. No offense at all and please take this as advice not criticism. I think beginners mess with eggs way too much; but, that's understandable as they are stressed, excited, anxious, etc. I know it can be stressful but these eggs are incredibly hardy. I actually drove two clutches across the country in a rattling RV and all the babies hatched no problem. I'm old school (because I'm old) and put the eggs directly on moistened vermiculite. I don't measure anything, I just mix the vermiculite until it clumps together. If you squeeze the vermiculite and it doesn't clump add more water, if it clumps but seeps water add vermiculite. Once the eggs are set up I check on them from time to time but that's about it. I almost never add water and they are fine. I also have a few small air holes in the tubs. I know many seal up their tubs but I always figured a little air is good. You can ask 10 people and probably get 8 different ways people set up their eggs. I think consistency is best and messing with them causes more problems then it helps. Good luck in the future.

I think my problem really was adding too much water. I had a grate/light diffuser in my tub. Apparently I added too much water and the grate sunk into the vermiculite so that it was touching the bottom of the eggs. By the time I realized it I think it was too late, it was only a day or so but it was still too much time. Maybe I will try stacking the grates next time so that there is no chance that they touch the verm below. I was checking them pretty frequently, maybe I would have just been better off leaving them be. I was just so stressed and I wanted everything to go well. Apparently I didn't get that wish. Hopefully next time around I will be better off.

In my larger egg boxes, for big clutches, I cut pieces of PVC to hold up the light diffuser. It keeps it from sinking in and allowing the eggs to get wet. Maybe you could do that. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Crawly's Mom

I think my problem really was adding too much water. I had a grate/light diffuser in my tub. Apparently I added too much water and the grate sunk into the vermiculite so that it was touching the bottom of the eggs. By the time I realized it I think it was too late, it was only a day or so but it was still too much time. Maybe I will try stacking the grates next time so that there is no chance that they touch the verm below. I was checking them pretty frequently, maybe I would have just been better off leaving them be. I was just so stressed and I wanted everything to go well. Apparently I didn't get that wish. Hopefully next time around I will be better off.

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Aw, that sucks. It just doesn't sound like you did anything all that obviously wrong, so I wonder if there was a heat spike.

Yeah, I put too much water in after the first clutched dimpled badly the first day. Overcompensation is the devil, I tell you. But my friend keeps pounding me on the head about "too dry is better than too wet", so maybe it was only a LITTLE too wet.

That's why I use light diffuser on top of the substrate. That way you don't have to worry about your eggs getting too wet. I pretty much ruined my eggs the first year because I put the eggs directly on hatchrite.

Sorry to hear about your first clutch issues. Don't feel too bad same thing happened to me last year with my first clutch. Made some adjustments and have not had a problem since. Hang in there.

I am sorry for your loss dear. If it is any consolation, I lost my first clutch due to inexperience as well. I had decided to go substrateless, and I had my pearlite in the box, a grate on top of that, and then water about 3/4ths of the depth of the pearlite. I put the lid on the tub, but the eggs caved in right away. I added more water and added more water. Finally I ditched the pearlite and just had the eggs suspended over about 4" of water. They just would not plump up, and I didn't know why. Eventually I knew they were gone, and when I cut them, they had dried out to the point almost of mummification. I couldn't understand why they were dried out. For crying out loud, they were sitting over 4" of water, how could that be dry??!!

The next season, we tried again. Same pearlite, same grate, and same eggs collapsing. Then I did what I should have in the first place and got a hygrometer. Turns out the lid was NOT holding in humidity. Despite the ridiculous amount of water under the eggs, humidity in the box was only 30%. Added saran wrap under the lid, and the humidity went off the chart, 60 days later I had babies. So it happens to a lot of us.

Now, you talk about the eggs molding. Can I ask exactly what they looked like? Did they turn greyish at first, then kind of yellowish? Did you see actual mold and if so what color was it? I've had eggs get some mold on them and still hatch, so we need to pinpoint what went wrong. I do know when I incubate, I use hatchrite but I put my eggs in a basket and suspend them over the hatchrite. I add enough water that I can see it slosh around a bit when I move the box. I open the box once a week to exchange air until about day 50, when I open it every three until someone pips. It is critical your egg tub is good and clean, no sense in adding extra problems. How sure are you your incubator held steady temps? I know temps that swing up and down will kill clutch. And sometimes you can do everything right, and still loose the eggs. It happens.

Gale

I was afraid they were not moist enough because they began to dimple really badly. So I was adding more water, then thought maybe the tub was releasing too much moisture, so I put some plastic wrap between the tub and the lid to hold the moisture in. I must have put too much water in because the grate sank into the substrate and when I caught it the water was touching the bottom of the eggs. I tried to fix the issue. I was told to wipe them dry, I did. I was told to sprinkle them with foot powder to try and kill any bacteria, I did that too. Here is a picture... really hard for me. I was so excited when I candled and saw movement, so to lose them is very rough.

http://i50.tinypic.com/5ysz8n.jpg